


N/A

by typingplace



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bisexual Character, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Implied/referenced sexual situation, Multi, Past relationship that I'm not putting in the tags, Slow Burn, a lot of it, also past drug use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-08 15:16:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17388776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/typingplace/pseuds/typingplace
Summary: The guy grabbed the card out of his hand and started to search out a pen. Once finding one and signing the card he handed it back to Larry, "You really should pay attention in here. You might learn something." and with a wave he left.Larry looked over the card, finally getting a name, "Sal Fisher.... "





	1. Chapter 1

Larry grumbled as he slouched down in the chair farthest back in the crowded room. Everyone else was standing in small groups talking and conversing as friends do. But not Larry. He didn't want to be here. He didn't think it was even necessary. 

He fingered the card in his pocket, crinkling his nose at the thought of having to get it signed at the end of the meeting. He might have been forced to be here, but that didn't mean he had to pay attention. 

He rolled his eyes as he stopped messing with the card and pulled out his phone. Everyone else began to quiet down and move the chairs that were scattered about into a large circle. 

Once everything was in place a girl around Larry's age with short brown hair stood at the podium that marked the head of the circle, "Thank you everyone for making it to the 8 'o clock narcotics anonymous meeting. We meet Wednesdays and Saturdays. My name is Ashley and I'm an addict. Let's start tonight with a reading from the big book. Any volunteers?" she asked looking around the room. A few hands went up but one voice spoke up instead of raising their hand.

"Hi, I'm Sally Face, addict," the voice spoke as they walked towards the podium. 

Everything Sally said after that wasn't heard by Larry. Everyone else maybe, but definitely not Larry. 

In the matter of a moment Larry was trapped in the aesthetic of him. Blue hair hung past his shoulders and a mysterious mask covered his face. The simple clothes the other wore didn't seem to match the vibe of him.

Was the mask to make it really anonymous? Or was that just like, a thing with this guy? That dye must have been fresh since Larry couldn't even see a fade anywhere in that head of blue. What makes a grown man dye his hair blue? 

Larry pondered all of these things, continuously staring from his hiding spot in the back of the room.

And even though Larry couldn't see the eyes behind the mask, even with a room full of people, Larry swore he could feel their eyes meet. He wasn't sure what the sensation was that ran through him, but maybe, just maybe, he would actually pay attention tonight. 

After a few minutes of people droning on about how they related to the reading, Larry thought he would gouge his ear drums out. He resorted to his normal pastime of scrolling through social media. All his friends were hanging out at the Travis' place. He'd absolutely have to stop by after this.

Larry was roused from his phone when someone kicked his foot.

"You really should pay attention if you're gunna take up the seat. Someone who actually needs it would love to be here." Larry looked up to see the Sally Face guy from earlier, "Meeting's over now. It's so nice of you to stay behind to help clean up."

Before Larry had a second to be confused a trash bag was shoved in his hands. He stuttered for a second staring at the bag in his hand before he sighed, slumping his shoulders. Several Styrofoam cups littered the floor and the tables while chairs had been pulled from the tables to make the circle. Sally Face was already at work putting all the chairs back in their places.

It only took a few minutes between the two of them and the room was back in its rightful order. Larry hesitated for a moment when pulling his card out of his pocket.

"Since I helped clean will you sign my card?" It was worth a try. He missed his chance to get it signed at the meeting.

There was a moments pause, "That's why you weren't paying attention. Fuck my bad." The guy grabbed the card out of his hand and started to search out a pen. Once finding one and signing the card he handed it back to Larry, "You really should pay attention in here. You might learn something." and with a wave he left.

Larry looked over the card, finally getting a name, "Sal Fisher.... " he mumbled pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing Travis.


	2. Chapter 2

Larry fell back on the bed exhaling the smoke in his lungs, watching it swirl in thick gray streams. He lifted his arm to pass the delicate glass pipe to Travis. Everyone else had left a few hours ago but the pair were still going strong, music still blaring from a room across the house as the clock glared a red 4:30 A.M.

"Fuck those meetings man! Fuckin' waste of time full of people bitchin' and bitchin' bout fuckin' what? Nothing man. Absolutely nothing. The one I went to tonight- toast man, and 'wasn't triggered'- ion't fuckin know." Larry prattled on while Travis took his turn with the pipe. The familiar flick the lighter and following sound of overuse of a lighter could faintly be heard.

"That's gay man." Travis replied, blowing his hit towards Larry, "That's gone. So why are you going?" he leaned over the edge of the bed and set the spent pipe on the side table. A deep groan punctuated the blond's over exaggerated stretch as he slowly sunk down into place beside Larry. An elbow quickly met his ribcage when he laid on Larry's hair though.

Larry padded the bed next to him for the ash tray. He carefully grabbed it and placed it in his lap and snatched his pack of smokes out of the glass dish; taking the lighter from Travis' lazily dangling hand and lighting the cigarette he had brought to his lips and took a long drag of the cancer, holding his breath while gathering his thoughts before exhaling the toxic fumes.

"Drug court. Dude how'd you not end up on drug court? We got popped together." Larry shifted to face the other boy, readjusting the ash tray to the unoccupied space between them.

"Dad's got friends around."

"Like who?"

Travis shot him a look, "Dude look you don't even want to know. It's not worth it."

Larry huffed but let it go with a shrug as he stabbed his cigarette out, "There was a kinda cool thing that happened. There was this dude, dunno, older than us dude. He had blue hair!" 

Travis raised a brow, "Blue hair you say?" He snatched a cigarette from Larry's pack, sitting up to light it.

"Blue hair - and this sick as fuck mask." he gushed throwing his hands over his face, "Looked like a doll dude."

Travis nodded and took a drag off his cigarette before jostling off the bed. He went to the computer desk, leaning over a small tray with and old credit card and a few different small bags. Holding the cigarette between his lips the whole time he prepared the lines, all the while Larry prattled on in the back ground about all the things that came to mind in association to Sal.

"Let it go for now man, " Travis set the tray on Larry's lap and reseated himself next to the boy after grabbing the torch from the side of the of the bed, "Let's follow these rails."

A snort came out of Larry's nose before he could help it, "That was lame as fuck."

The blond just shrugged and set to work heating the end of the glass straw, "My drugs, my house. I don't have to be funny."

Larry didn't remember how he got to the Denny's, or why he was on the floor in the bathroom, or where Travis was, but, he was completely coherent when being shook awake by a rough hand on his shoulder, "Buzz off-!" he slurred swatting at the offending hand.

"Sir, my name's Officer Henry Fisher. I'm going to need you to come to the station with us." the hand on his shoulder moved to pull him up off the ground and press him against the wall, slapping a pair of handcuffs on him, "For my and your own safety I'm going to have to handcuff you."

Before Larry had a chance to argued, or puke from the sudden movement after being freshly ripped from his sleep, he was being shoved towards the front door of the restaurant where he could see the cop car sitting with the door open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the next chapter definitely won't be out this fast but I got excited to post this. So far I have all the way out to chapter 7 blocked. Come talk to me on tumblr. :) I'd love to here theories on where yall think this is going.


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing of interest actually happened until the second day of Larry's incarceration when the drugs started to lose their grip on him. The chills and sweats ravaged his body as he huddled over the cold metal toilet, one hand desperately trying to keep his hair from plastering against his face while the other secured his place against the soothing metal.

He wasn't sure how long he spent with his head on the throne, the hours all bleed into each other. The only thing that Larry was able to coherently understand as the pass of time was the changing of the officers and the switched meal trays.

A few days later, when Larry was finally able to move from the bowl of the toilet, the cell to his door flew open. His eyes hazily drooped toward the jarring sound. To his surprise, his eyes rested upon the officer who arrested him, "Long time no see Fisher."

The man in the doorway gave a sigh while moving into the room, gently grabbing Larry by the elbow and helping him to his feet, "Come on Larry. Time for court. Let's hope this time's the last time. Don't think the judge is going to keep being so nice to you if you keep showing up here."

Officer Fisher took him to a small shower room reserved for those who had court in the morning. Larry almost couldn't contain the excitement at the prospect of getting the hardened puke out if his hair.

"I got a hair tie for you to make that hair actually look respectful, and a change of clothes instead of those tattered rags."

Larry lazily looked over the officer, a blue scruff covered his chin with a thinning blue hair line topping his head. Fisher - where had he heard that name before? "You're the one who got me from Denny's right? Harry Fisher?"

"Henry, and yes. My son said to keep an eye out for ya. Something bout you won't be long now." With that Henry took his leave to let Larry clean up; and if Larry could have taken hours he would have. Showers, even shitty jail showers, felt like sin after not having one for a few days. He thought about little other than washing off the filth from his withdrawal during his brief shower but one question came to his mind as he dressed and tied his hair back into a braid; who was Fisher's kid? Someone who knew him, obviously.

A knock at the door dragged him from his thoughts before the door opened, "Come on. They're waiting for us out there."

When he was dragged into the court room his case worker sat at the bench where Larry was supposed to sit, sitting right where Larry's mom should be. But Larry's mom had stopped coming to his court hearings a long time ago.

"Now presenting case 1307-9684 Larry Johnson VS Nockfell county courts. You may approach the bench Mr. Johnson" the bailiff said, placing a gentle hand on the boy's elbow, escorting him forward.

Larry's eyes met with those of his case worker, a sheepish smile spread across his face in embarrassment. His case worker scowled back, harsh eyes burning into him, "Just plead guilty and I'll make your sanction as easy as possible."

A sigh left his lips as he rose with the other occupants of the court when the Judge arrived; attempting to shrink in his chair when he was told to be seated.

After looking over Larry's file for a moment the Judge looked down at the boy sitting in front of him, "Larry Johnson. You've been in this room more times than I can count. Now, you told me the last time I saw you that it was going to be the _last_ time."

The boy could only look down in response. He wasn't embarrassed, he just didn't want to be called out the way he was, "Your Honor, this really is going to be-"

The judge slammed his gavel down, "You're correct young sir! This will be the last time! The next time I see you in here, breaking the law and what not- you'll be wishing I was going to sentence you to house arrest."

"Wait - what?"

"Three months. Monday morning you will report to your case worker's office and be fitted with an ankle monitor. Until then court adjourned." 

He inhaled sharply through his nose as he rose from the chair. At least he wouldn't be sitting in jail. 

Officer Fisher walked slightly behind him, directing him toward the front desk to sign his release papers and collect his affects. Now it was just a matter of finding a ride home.

"What do you mean that's all they gave you?" Sal hissed as Larry dropped into his passenger seat wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, "Didn't my dad give you clothes?"

"Borrowed." He corrected digging around in the bag that had everything that was in his pockets; taking out his cigarettes, he rolled down the window and light one up, taking an overly dramatic drag off it.

Sal rolled his eye in response. Once Larry had figured out he didn't have any one to call to get him Officer Fisher had called his son to the rescue.

"You're lucky I'm ever here. Don't smoke in my car!" He snatched the cancer stick out of the other's mouth, rolling down his own window and tossing it, "That shit'll kill you."

"No faster than the drugs are." 

The rest of the drive was silent with Larry giving the occasional short warning to turn. This gave him a chance to better study Sal.

Unlike last time Sal's hair was pulled up into a high pony tail and seemed to come to the same length as Larry's, if not a little longer, and after seeing his dad he could tell the others hair was naturally blue instead of colored like he thought before. His clothes still seemed a little simple considering Sal's looks in general. A black long sleeve with a floral print and the words _Chill Bitch_ paired with a pair of red ripped skinny jeans.

"You really should wear something with more shock value. It's on the left." Larry commented off handedly with a small wave of his hand toward the apartment building that was growing in the distance.

"Like only wearing pants?" the other shot back parking throwing the car into park after finding a spot close enough to the door.

"Exactly." he smirked at Sal as the both clambered out of the car. 

"Welcome to my shitty apartment." Larry welcomed as he swung the door open and led Sal into his studio apartment.

"Wow..." Sal deadpanned after a moment. The only things furnishing the apartment were a mattress on the far side of the room and a couch that faced an empty entertainment stand. 

"Yeah... I don't usually have people over." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I get this room for free as long as I help my mom out around the building." 

Sal nodded as he made his way toward the kitchen, ripping open all the cabinet doors as he passed them before opening the fridge, "Do you ever have anything to eat here?"

"I'm not usually here." he called back while digging through a pile of clothes in the corner of the room

"Ah." he closed the fridge and turned on his heal to face Larry, "We're going grocery shopping. Are you doing the sniff test?" 

"Was," Larry pulled the shirt away from his face and putting I on, "It passed. Are you buying because I'm broke." 

"I might not after that. Just let you suffer."

"You wouldn't be so cruel."

"Try me." Sal snicker as he headed toward the door, Larry not far behind him, "Just you wait Larry. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are slowly gaining length. Please let me know what you think :)


	4. Chapter 4

Larry didn’t expect to see Sal again after he had dropped him off, groceries in hand. He didn’t even bother to come in and help him put them away. But Sal did pay for the goods, so Larry couldn’t really complain. So it came a bit of as shock when Larry opened the door the next day to see Sal behind it.

“Uh…” The blue-haired boy lifted the box in his arms, “I come bearing entertainment? Gonna let me in?”

“Yeah..” he shuffled awkwardly out of the way. Sal rushed past him and headed straight for the empty entertainment stand. Setting the box down he shrugged out of his jacket casting it in the direction of the couch. “What are you doing?”

“I told you, entertainment.” Sal looked up at him, holding up a Nintendo 64, “Doesn’t need internet, doesn’t break, hours of entertainment. What could be better?”

The brunette tilted his head to the side. Looking between Sal and the 64 for a moment he finally shrugged before plopping down on the floor next to him, “So why are you giving me this?”

“Lending.”

“Fine. Why are you lending me this?”

Sal had pulled a portable T.V. out of the box and placed it on the stand. Gathering the rest of the cords and controller from the box he finished setting everything up.

“Thought it’d be better to at least have something to do. You are stuck in here for three months after all. That’ll make anyone lose their mind.” Nodding his head in accomplishment he turned back towards he box, pulling out three games. “I brought Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Bomber Man. There’s more in the box.”

“Uh,” Larry rubbed his nose, almost shyly. He was at a loss for words.

“Dude it’s not a big deal. It’s an extra I had lying around.” He popped Mario Kart into the system and returned the other games to the box. Moving the controllers out of the way he rose to his feet, “Help me move the couch.”

Larry heaved himself up and grabbed the other end of the couch. The couch wasn’t very heavy with both of them moving it. Once done they nestled into the couch, controllers in hand while Sal started up the game.

“Ready to get your ass handed to you?” Larry threw a cocky grin at Sal.

“You fucking wish.” Sal elbowed him, “Which track?”

The two finally settled on Toad’s Turnpike, setting the difficulty to the highest setting. The two switched between first and second place until the last lap. Sal threw a blue shell he’d been saving after letting Larry pull in front of him, winning the race with a small laugh.

“Fucking cheat.” Larry growled as he wiped his hands on his pants.

“Not cheating. Strategy is what you’re going for.” Sal smirked at him, “Best two out of three?”

The two played far past the three rounds. Sal won most of the rounds which only caused Larry to grow more frustrated. As his frustration grew his sweating got worse eventually causing the controller to slip out of his hands.

“God damn it!” Larry roared kicking the game system. The game froze in return.

Taking a deep breath Larry leaned down and turned off the system. He turned to face Sal, “Sorry ‘bout that.”

The blue-haired boy shrugged as he rose to his feet, “I know how it goes. I should get going anyway. Try to eat something. You’re looking pretty shaky there.” 

Larry glanced toward the kitchen as he heard the door. Out of habit he moved to the window.

Larry waited at the window, watching Sal climb into his car and drive away. He stayed there until the other turned the corner and just to be safe he waited a few more minutes.

Once Larry was sure Sal wasn’t coming back he dug his phone out of his pocket. Without looking at his phone he dialed the only number in his phone and placed it to his ear.

“When’d you get out of jail?”

“Like a few days ago. The fuck you been?”

“Not in jail just I’m not fucking stupid.” Travis snickered from the other end.

“Fuck you.” Larry growled switching his phone to his other hand; wiping his now freed hand on his shirt then raking his fingers through his tangled hair. “Dude you gotta get over here.”

Travis’ laugh rung through the receiver, “Do you have the cash?”

“The fuck-” Larry shot the phone a glare, “I just got out of jail dude! I don’t have any fucking money.”

“Tough shit dude.” he could practicality see Travis shrugging. Larry took a deep breath, readying himself to unleash a round of obscenities at him. “Unless you got something to trade.” 

The silence only lasted a moment, “How fast can you get here?”

“See you in twenty.” then the line went dead.

It was a few moments before Larry dropped the phone from his ear as he shuddered.

Larry tried not to think about it as his jaw got sore. Tired not to think about it as he thoroughly scrubbed his mouth, being sure to rinse three separate times. Tired not to think about it as he stared at that small container that Travis had left on his kitchen counter.

But he couldn’t help the tears that welled up in his eyes as he dug through the silverware drawer. Or how they fell as he frantically dug out his lighter.

The sound of his door opening froze him solid, “Hey. Sorry I forgot my jacket-”

One blue eye met two bloodshot brown eyes. That was all it took for Sal to rush to his side, hands outstretched to grab the paraphernalia from Larry’s trembling ones.

Shocked, Larry dropped the offending items as if he’d been burned. Sal wrapped his arms around the other.

“It’s going to be okay.” The shorter boy whispered, gently rubbing the others back.

A chocked sob escaped Larry’s lips. He pressed his forehead into the others neck, hands clinging to the front of his shirt. Sobs shook his body as Sal continued to rub gentle circles into his back, whispering sweet nothings into his ear to coax him towards the bed.

Larry spent the night with his head in Sal’s lap while he sat with his back against the wall. He switched between running his fingers through Larry’s sweaty hair and tracing soothing patters into his arms in an attempt to distract him.

After Larry’s breathing returned to normal it didn’t take him long to pass out, his soft snores being the only sound in the apartment.

Sal continued to finger comb Larry’s hair long after he fell asleep, attempting to get the tangles out but not getting very far. He shook his head. It wasn’t going to be quick and sure as hell wasn’t going to be easy, but Larry was going to get through this. 

“Lucky for you, I’ve been here a time or two.” Sal mumbled to Larry’s sleeping form as he closed his eyes and let sleep over come him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this took me. This was a hard chapter for me to write. Let me know what you think <3 also I switched my penname to match my tumblr.


	5. Chapter 5

Being on house arrest sounded like a dream to Larry. It was supposed to be lounging about in his boxers. Not having to worry about work or pleasing people for a few weeks. But then Sal crashed into his life. Sal had come over almost every day since the incident. Normally with snacks, Ashley, or both.

“This is for you.” Ashley smiled handing him a surprisingly large book one of the first times she had come over.

Larry took it awkwardly raising a brow in confusion as he looked from her to the book, “Uh. Thanks. I was running out of things to read.” he stated dryly.

Sal rolled his eye smacking the underside of the book as he walked past the other boy, “We probably should have asked if you could read first.”

“Stop flirting, Sal.” Ash gave him an irritated look before looking back at Larry with a cheerful grin. “We’re bringing the meetings to you.”

“Huh?”

Sal groaned from the kitchen, “Seriously dude?”

“What?” Larry spun to face the other, eyes narrowing as their gazes locked.

“Knock it off.” Ashley plopped onto the couch raising the bag Larry didn’t realize she’d been holding, “We brought snacks.”

His eye lit up at the promise of food, “Drinks too?”

She nodded, patting the seat next to her.

Sal couldn’t hold back his groan at the childish way Larry rushed across the room and dropped himself onto the couch next to her.

“So how’s this work?” he asked fingering the spine of the book, “Are we just gunna read? Is this like book club?”

“Not quite.” Sal chuckled as he came up behind the two. He reached over and opened the book, skipping several open pages before coming to a page with a list. His finger rested on the top of the page, “First we’re going to talk about the steps. After that we don’t really have to read the book. There are some good stories in here though, so I do suggest reading it some time.”

Larry jumped when Ash put her hand on his arm, “Mostly we just talk.”

“About what?”

“Stuff.” Sal shrugged from his place on the floor, “Stuff that bothers us. Issues we’re having.”

“So girl talk?”

“No.” Ash shot him a look, “Just shut up and read.”

-

“I’m going to smoke.” Larry groaned stretching his arms far above his head. 

Sal was already to his feet taking the few cans that had sat around him into the kitchen, “Same.”

“I’ll start picking up.” Ash chirped strolling into the kitchen in search of a trash bag.

“Just wait til we get back in. We’ll help you.” there were wrappers and soda cans everywhere, some with food or soda still in them. 

“No worries, I like to clean actually,” she said as she was already searching through the cabinets. “You boys go enjoy your cancer.” She said it flatly, but then stuck her tongue out and laughed as the two were heading towards the sliding glass door.

“You’ve had to have tapped that.” Larry took a long drag off his cigarette, eyes following Ashley’s ass as she buzzed around his apartment.

Sal cast a glance at her before shrugging, “Yeah. It was a one time thing though. Both of us decided we were better off friends.”

Larry felt his eyes widen as his head snapped to look at the blue haired boy. He moved closer, nudging Sal with his elbow. The other gave him an irritated look, blowing his smoke into Larry’s face.

“Stop.”

“No.” This time his words were punctuated by a sharp jab to Sal’s ribs.

Sal swatted at him, “Fucking stop!”

“Not til you give me details.” Larry grinned, slinging his arm around Sal’s neck, pinning the smaller to his side.

“Can I smoke my cig first?” Sal rolled his eye as Larry let go of him. He took a deep drag off his smoke, eye flashing in Ashley’s direction. She had finally sat down, now scrolling away at her phone. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Stop holding out on me dude.” Larry whined, breaking through his thought process. He gave a side eye at the brunette and Larry could see the faintest hints of a smile from where Sal’s mask had been lifted.

“There isn’t much to tell dude. We were kids.”

“I still wanna hear about it.”

“It was more of a virginity pact thing.” Sal mumbled, heat rising to his cheeks. Even after all these years it still embarrassed him to think, let alone talk, about it.

Larry attempted to cover his laugh by coughing, “A virginity pact? Like in chick flicks?”

Sal groaned, pitching his cigarette butt over the railing, “You’re the one who wanted to know!” he huffed, crossing his arms.

“Sorry. Sorry.” He covered his mouth, nodding at Sal to continue.

The two maintained eye contact for a moment; Larry’s eyes full of bright, playful energy while Sal’s was thoughtful and calculating. He took a deep breath before continuing. 

“We made a deal that if we didn’t-” he coughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck while looking at his feet, “-Ya know before we were like, seventeen I think, we’d do it with each other.”

“And?”

“Uh. Heh-” a laugh bubbled up his throat at the memory, “It was so awkward. We stopped halfway through. She couldn’t stop laughing because I wasn’t sure what to do, not that she did either. We blew up the condoms and made balloons out of them instead.”

Larry let out a booming laugh, “Is it bad that I can see it?”

Sal smiled at him, setting his mask back in place, “Let’s just get back in there.” 

The taller of the two pitched his cigarette butt, opening the sliding door, “So free game to ask her out then?”

“Good luck.” Sal snorted shoving him through the door, “She told me she was a lesbian not long after that.”

“Are you talking about me?” Ashley raised a brow as she walked out of the bathroom.

“Only our failed romance.” the blue haired boy laughed walking up to her, wrapping his arm around her neck, “Or was it?”

She rolled her eyes slapping his shoulder, “Failed. Absolutely failed. Anyways,” she continued as she pulled her coat on, “I got work soon so I’m gunna head out.”

After Ashley had left the pair sat themselves on the couch. Sal sat upright at one end with Larry’s feet in his lap as the other sprawled out across the rest of the couch.

Sal talked him though the first part of the Zelda game, albeit laughing every time Larry got hit by something and the way he freaked out at the skulltula- “Fuck off dude. It dropped out of no where.” By the time he beat the boss Larry he didn’t need his help anymore.

-

Larry blinked the sleep from his eyes as he dropped the controller, flexing his hands a few times to get the stiffness out. Sal was still sitting with his head propped by his hand, frighteningly loud snores coming from the boy let Larry know he had also fallen asleep.

“Sal.” he whispered gently nudging the other with his foot, “Sal.”

The blue haired boy only groaned in response, swatting at the offending foot.

With a groan, he slowly stood up, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes.

“Sal.” he tried again. This time he shook his shoulder while leaning over him. Even in the low lighting from the T.V. Larry could see the angry scars peaking out from the edges of his mask.

The sudden urge to trace his fingers over the scars came to mind, but instead he took a breath and shook the other again.

Sal’s eyes flickered open and Larry almost missed the way one eye looked up and the other stayed forward.

“Metal.” 

“Fuck off.” Sal groaned shoving the other, “What time is it?”

“Uh..” Larry glanced at the microwave, letting out a small giggle as he read out the time, “Four twenty.”

Even with the mask Larry could tell the disapproving look Sal was giving him, “Grow up. Have you been playing this whole time?”

“No. I think I fell asleep and died.” He strode over to the system turning it off, “I got to the large fish thing? That princess is a bitch.”

“Oh just you wait. It gets better.” Sal laughed grabbing his shoes.

Larry frowned, “You leaving?”

“Yeah. Figure I’ve been here long enough. You’re probably sick of me.” 

“You can stay. I don’t mind.” his dark hair hung in front of his face as he looked at his shoes.

Sal paused in his search for his coat to look at Larry; a soft smile coming to his face, “You sure? I don’t mind heading home if you want some space.”

Larry shrugged, stuffing his hand into his pockets while he looked at the other shyly, “Honestly I don’t really like being here alone.” He felt the tips of his ears go red.

“Alright then.” Sal didn’t miss a beat, “Smoke then bed? ‘Cause I’m tired as fuck.”

The two stood outside as they discussed sleeping arrangements. They argued back and forth about the matter before deciding to share the bed since Larry didn’t have spare blankets.

“Can I, um, get you a glass of water?” Larry asked licking his lips, almost gesturing to his eye.

Sal shook his head as he shrugged out of his coat, “Should be fine. It’s just for a night.” 

He kicked his shoes off by the door and pulled his phone out of his back pocket and putting it along with them, “Mind if I take the wall?”

“Go ahead.”

The pair shuffled to get comfortable as they both squished into Larry’s full-size bed. Sal ended up facing the wall, his mask resting on the pillow next to his head. Larry was half way hanging off the bed, his leg and arm sticking out while he clutched his half of the blanket to keep it covering him.

“Hey Larry?” Sal whispered after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?” he mumbled back, half asleep.

“You can move closer if you want to. It’s your bed.”

In his half asleep state Larry rolled over without much thought, throwing his arm around the boy’s waist slurring out something vaguely sounding like, “G’night.”

Sal pulled the blanket up over the bridge of his half nose and closed his eyes with a sigh, falling asleep not long after.

Larry shot up in bed hand clutching his throat as he gulped down breaths of air, sweat plastered his hair down his back. The sounds of bending metal and breaking glass fresh on his mind.

Shaking his bad dream from his mind he noticed he was alone in the bed. He glanced to where Sal should have been to confirm that the other boy was, indeed, not in bed.

He raised a brow as he looked around before landing on a yellow sticky note. Sal had wrote his name at the top and quickly scrawled his number under it. Larry couldn’t help the grin that came to his face as he rolled out of bed, almost knocking over the pain killers and water Sal had left for him.

Downing the water and pills he headed toward the bathroom. A shower was first thing on his list. He didn’t want to think about how bad he must smell right now.

He set the water before stripping his clothes, giving it a few moments to warm up before climbing in. He took longer than necessary, taking his time to lather his thick mane of hair in conditioner. A content sigh left his lips as he ran his fingers through his hair.

The smell of blackberries filled the room as he scrubbed at his gangly limbs. His mind wandered back to the number Sal had left for him. It didn’t take him long to finish showering once he thought of the other. It had been so long since he actually been around someone without being high. He almost forgot how good it felt to be able to hold a conversation with someone.

He snatched up his phone once out and quickly dialing the number.

Sal’s breathless voice picked up after a few rings, “Hey.”

“Hey” he paused, looking for the right words to say.

“Sorry I left so early.”

“You left your number this time so I guess it’s okay.” he heard Sal’s laugh ring through the phone, “Where’d you go anyway?”

“Running.” Sal said, his breathing sounding more even now.

“You run? I thought you were a smoker?” 

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me Larry.” he furrowed his brows at Sal’s amused voice.

“So when do I get to learn more?”

“In time.” Larry could hear faint voices from the other end before hearing a muffled response from Sal before he spoke clearly again, “Hey I’ll swing by later. I’m getting yelled at to move my ass.”

Larry didn’t even get to say bye before the other line disconnected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you to all the people who take their time to read this and thank you for your continued patience <3 The next chapter is sadly going to take me a while because I need to do some story mapping and drafting.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if I should continue? I have a lot of drive for this because this stuff is near and dear to my heart.


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